The UK has more mobile users involved in social networking than the rest of Europe, analysts, Nielsen Online has revealed.

Latest statistics from the firm showed 812,000 mobile subscribers accessed the sites in the first quarter of this year. Facebook was the most popular (557,000), followed by MySpace (211,000).

Jim Herrmann, vice president of mobile media, said the UK and US were leading the development, with millions of users "interacting with their virtual spaces while they’re on the go".

"Social networking is already a global phenomenon, and going mobile is the next big thing," he added.

The UK reach percentage is twice as high as other European countries, (1.7 per cent) compared to Spain (0.8 per cent), France (0.6 per cent) and Germany (0.2 per cent).

Search providers have been quick to optimise their search tools for mobile use. They hope the shift towards online mobile use will increase interest in mobile advertising.

MySpace, in collaboration with Yahoo!, eBay, Photobucket, and Twitter has launched Data Availability, a scheme that helps its users share their personal data across the internet.

By opening networks, the popular social network hopes to allow its users to create a transferable web identity.

"The walls around the garden are coming down - the implementation of Data Availability injects a new layer of social activity and creates a more dynamic internet," said Chris DeWolfe, chief executive officer and co-founder.

By making the programme voluntary, it will give users control over their personal information, while allowing them to easily make changes to their profiles, the site claims.

Amit Kapur, chief operating officer, said the initiative "is an unprecedented move to further socialise the web", although it was not immediately clear if rival, Facebook, would be involved.

Google’s relationship with Yahoo! could extend past their recent trial, according to the search company’s leading executives.

The pair shared advertising for two weeks and Google’s search results appeared on Yahoo!’s pages.

"We share a lot of values with them," said Google’s co-founder, Sergey Brin.

He joined chief executive, Eric Schmidt, who told the company’s annual general meeting the recent trial was a success and "a good basis to talk to Yahoo! some more".

According to new data from analysts, comScore, the companies are the two most popular website destinations for US internet users.

It revealed Yahoo! Sites is the top property with 139.5 million visitors, followed by Google Sites with 137.5 million – closely followed by Microsoft Sites with 121 million.

Despite pressure from shareholders, Google rejected a proposal to create a committee on human rights and increase opposition to censorship.

Media and entertainment companies are in broad agreement on the evolving digital market, according to a new study.

Consultants, Accenture, found the media industry believes social media and user-generated content are high growth areas (68 per cent), and two-thirds feel the largest drivers of revenue will be new platforms and content delivery.

"It is great news that media organisations are developing a consistent strategic view of the key growth areas, but execution is slow," said Gavin Mann, digital media lead.

"I am not claiming it is easy to turn around some of the world’s greatest media organisations, but I do believe it is essential if they are to remain great."

The study targeted more than 100 senior executives in the media and entertainment industry and examined their growth strategies across different channels.

It found the four sources of revenue growth predicted to form the dominant business model in five years are social media and user generated content, multi-platform distribution, short-form video and advertising.

A recent study by TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony has urged marketers to harness the power of social media.

New search engine, Viewzi, is using a unique method of providing search answers, by displaying them in ‘views’.

Its visual led display differs from that of competitors and according to tech advice site, E-consultancy, it could rival Google.

"Viewzi may not be as comprehensive," it noted "but it is arguably more appealing to look at".

It claims to be a search platform "able to morph into any number of user interfaces using any number of different data sources as the situation calls for".

The new site is currently in beta and its creators are looking for additional funding to add to the £500,000 they have so far raised.

"While Viewzi cannot match Google for speed or efficiency, it is an excellent alternative for niche searches," E-consultancy found.

Advertisers rely on search engines to find pages on which they are marketing and place their messages according to users’ preferences.

Analysts, Nielsen Online, revealed Google Search, MSN Messenger and eBay, scored highest overall in terms of average monthly visitors in 2007.

MySpace, social networking site, will return profits ten per cent down on what it had predicted, its owner warned.

The site belongs to News Corporation’s Fox Interactive Media, which has said it will fail to reach its targets this year.

The announcement increases speculation that some social sites may have been over-valued. Peter Chemin, News Corp’s chief operating officer, noted: "It’s still difficult to quantify the economic value of a friend in the social networking space."

"Despite the obstacles we’re facing, what we’re accomplishing is extraordinary," he went on.

Marketers are increasingly searching for 360-degree campaigns, which are interactive and engage consumers as they move between media.

Facebook, currently valued at $15 billion (£7.6 billion), fell foul of members after introducing its Beacon advertising system without giving them the choice to take part.

Microsoft is still seeking a deal to give it access to valuable social networking site (SNS) users.

The computing giant had its offer for Yahoo! rejected and is understood to now have approached Facebook, the Times has reported.

The paper said it believed Bill Gates’ company made an offer to establish if Mark Zuckerberg was interested in selling the site – his reaction to the bid remains unknown.

"Social media is a growing and varied culture," noted Nielsen Online’s internet analyst, Mark Burmaster.

The rating firm revealed Facebook had a UK audience of more than 8.5 million unique users in January this year, MySpace (five million) and Bebo (four million).

Microsoft hoped to target Yahoo!’s millions of users as part of its search for increased advertising revenue.

Marketers are hoping to monetise niche networks within these sites, although they are yet to confirm a successful business model.

Up to 12 per cent of DSL broadband subscribers will switch to WiMAX connections in the next five years, a new study has predicted.

Analysis of future internet provision, by Juniper Research, revealed the Far East will lead the switchover and have one-fifth of its 47 million subscribers by 2013.

WiMAX operators are deploying networks across the world and report author, Howard Wilcox said it will "solve the broadband access problem for users located at the fringes of DSL coverage".

"Additionally in developing countries - such as India - network operators are aiming to provide basic connectivity."

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), is a wireless system, which can provide broadband access up to 50km from its base-station - much further than current home Wi-Fi networks.

UK broadband is struggling to carry an increasing amount of video content, which is slowing download times.

Privacy groups in the US have warned they will complain against mobile search marketing.

The Center for Digital Democracy (CDD) and the US Public Interest Research Group have said they will amend an earlier complaint about interactive marketing techniques to include mobile ads.

Jeff Chester, executive director of the CDD, told the Federal Trade Commission it should pay particular attention to the privacy of children as "young people have, as we know, embraced this new medium most dramatically".

The internet advertising bureau (IAB) acts as a trade body for the UK online industry and works with its members to compile best practice and raise professional standards.

It believes self-regulation is the best policy for the advertising industry and recently announced UK internet advertising expenditure has grown 38 per cent, year-on-year.

"It’s clear marketing directors now recognise the value of online to drive their business, and more and more are using rich media and video to build their brands, just as they do on TV," said its chief executive, Guy Phillipson.

Video search company, blinkx, has decided to sell parts of the search technology it uses to categorise its collection.

Its advanced media platform (AMP) comprises of four packages, which can be used in tandem or alone.

"We’ve taken a lot of the technology we’ve built for video search, turned it into components and launched it as a platform," said Suranga Chandratillake, chief executive officer and founder.

The company is offering one feature that matches video content with text articles, one to offer community recommendations, a further to automate their categorisation and a search optimisation function.

Mr Chandratillake claimed the platform is a soloution "that finally enables media partners to really, truly organise, distribute and monetise their video assets".

However, analysts have warned the increased popularity of downloading and streaming video files could reduce connection speeds.